Chan, Ying Shan. / Thesis submitted in: October 2006. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-117). / Abstracts in English and Chinese; appendix also in Chinese. / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.i / ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH --- p.ii / ABSTRACT IN CHINESE --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES --- p.v / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.vi / Chapter CHAPTER ONE --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Statement of Problem --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- Purpose and Method of Study --- p.4 / Chapter 1.4 --- Significance of the Study --- p.6 / Chapter 1.5 --- Organization of the Dissertation --- p.7 / Chapter CHAPTER TWO --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.8 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.8 / Chapter 2.2 --- Previous Research on Planning and Oral Performance --- p.9 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Conceptual Framework of Planning Studies --- p.9 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Aspects of Linguistic Performance --- p.10 / Chapter 2.3 --- The Role of Planning in Writing --- p.13 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Writing Models --- p.14 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- The Role of L2 in Writing Models --- p.16 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- The Role of L1 in L2 Writing --- p.18 / Chapter 2.4 --- Different Types of Planning --- p.22 / Chapter 2.5 --- The Importance of Planning --- p.23 / Chapter 2.6 --- The Relationship between Planning and Written Performance --- p.24 / Chapter 2.6.1 --- Planning Types --- p.26 / Chapter 2.6.2 --- Research on Pre-task Planning --- p.26 / Chapter 2.6.3 --- Research on Online Planning --- p.27 / Chapter 2.6.4 --- Other Research --- p.28 / Chapter 2.7 --- Chapter Summary --- p.29 / Chapter CHAPTER THREE --- METHODOLOGY --- p.30 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.30 / Chapter 3.2 --- Safeguards for the Research Design --- p.31 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Classroom Situation --- p.32 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Purposeful Sampling --- p.33 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Voluntary Participation and Guarantee of Anonymity --- p.33 / Chapter 3.3 --- The Participants --- p.33 / Chapter 3.4 --- Sources of Data --- p.38 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Pre-task Questionnaires --- p.39 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Written Products --- p.39 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- Reflective Questionnaires --- p.40 / Chapter 3.4.4 --- Semi-structured Interviews --- p.40 / Chapter 3.5 --- Procedures of Data Collection --- p.41 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Selecting the Subjects --- p.41 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Gathering the Basic Information of the Participants --- p.42 / Chapter 3.5.3 --- Conducting Pilot Studies --- p.43 / Chapter 3.5.4 --- Writing Sessions --- p.44 / Chapter 3.5.5 --- Semi-structured Interviews --- p.47 / Chapter 3.5.6 --- Collecting Questionnaires and Written Products --- p.48 / Chapter 3.6 --- Analysis of the Data --- p.48 / Chapter 3.6.1 --- Eliciting the Questionnaires and Interviews --- p.48 / Chapter 3.6.2 --- Analyzing the Written Products --- p.49 / Chapter 3.6.3 --- Processing the Data --- p.52 / Chapter 3.7 --- Chapter Summary --- p.52 / Notes --- p.53 / Chapter CHAPTER FOUR --- RESULTS --- p.55 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.55 / Chapter 4.2 --- Effects of the Medium of Planning on Written Performance --- p.55 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- The Effects of Task Sequences on Written Performance --- p.55 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- The Effects of the Medium of Planning without the Consideration of Proficiency --- p.57 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- The Effects of the Medium of Planning with the Consideration of Proficiency --- p.59 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- The Effects of the Medium of Planning and Proficiency Level on Written Performance --- p.65 / Chapter 4.3 --- The Comparison between Two Proficiency Groups on Each Task --- p.67 / Chapter 4.4 --- Questionnaires and Interviews --- p.73 / Chapter 4.5 --- Chapter Summary --- p.75 / Chapter CHAPTER FIVE --- FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION --- p.77 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.77 / Chapter 5.2 --- The Relationship between the Medium of Planning and Written Performance --- p.77 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- The Effects of the Medium of Planning on Fluency --- p.78 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- The Effects of the Medium of Planning on Accuracy --- p.88 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- The Effects of the Medium of Planning on Complexity --- p.92 / Chapter 5.3 --- Comparison of the Two Proficiency Groups on Each Task --- p.94 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Two Groups Performing in English Task --- p.94 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Two Groups Performing in Chinese Task --- p.96 / Chapter 5.4 --- Chapter Summary --- p.100 / Chapter CHAPTER SIX --- "CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIOINS AND RECOMMENDATIONS" --- p.102 / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.102 / Chapter 6.2 --- Conclusion of the Study --- p.102 / Chapter 6.3 --- Implications for Teachers --- p.105 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- Ways to Improve Fluency --- p.106 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- Ways to Improve Accuracy --- p.108 / Chapter 6.4 --- Limitations and Recommendations --- p.109 / Chapter 6.5 --- Chapter Summary --- p.110 / REFERENCES --- p.112 / APPENDICES --- p.118

M. Tech. Education Tshwane University of Technology 2009. / Determines the effect of language of instruction (LOI) on the performance of learners in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province. The findings revealed that language of instruction has an effect on the performance of learners. There is difference in the performance of learners who use mother tongue as medium of instruction compared to those using second language as medium of instruction. The government practices and peoples perception on the issue of language of instruction in African schools are the main factors hindering the introduction of African languages as medium of instruction in African schools. Recommendations were made that the Department of Education must support the constitutional right to equality of all languages by encouraging local language use in all the activities in local state institutions. The retraining of educators and translation of English books into African languages is to be done as matter of urgency.

published_or_final_version / Language Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

The South African Schools Act (1996) is now in place to allow the governing bodies to decide on language policies for their schools. This has come about as a means to redress the past situation whereby policies were imposed upon schools. The most affected groups of people were Africans since those policies were designed with the sole aim of undermining their home languages. The only two languages that were promoted at all cost were English and Afrikaans. These languages were also used as languages of learning and instructions. This had detrimental effects on the school results of black children as they could not cope to learn in a foreign or second language. Teachers also worked under tremendous pressure as they had to make an extra effort in trying to make learners understand difficult and new concepts. In an effort to redress these problems the new language policy under the new democratic South Africa recommends the use of a home language as a language of learning. It however remains to be investigated what attitudes the black educators have towards this policy as they are the ones who should implement it in their classrooms. This study set out to investigate the black educators' attitudes on the issue of the role of indigenous languages in education. The focus indigenous language of this study is isiZulu. This is due to the fact that the study was conducted in an isiZulu dominated area, that is in Durban in the region of KwaZulu-Natal. I wanted to ascertain what are the isiZulu-speaking teachers' attitudes on the role of isiZulu in society and in education. I investigated their attitudes on what languages should be used as languages of teaching and learning and at what levels. I also tried to understand what languages they would prefer to be offered as subjects. The data of this study were obtained mostly by means of questionnaires and verified through limited but structured interviews. The questionnaire had two sections: Respondents completed the first part of the questionnaire giving their personal details. These were needed to establish whether and to what extent they have an effect on teachers' attitudes. The rest of the questionnaire was directed at eliciting the educators' attitudes towards the role of African languages in education. This study has two main findings: First, it was found that the respondents generally favour the use of African languages in education. That is, the majority of respondents favoured the early introduction and continued use of isiZulu as a language of instruction. Second, some of their responses are self-contradictory to this attitude in that the teachers equally wanted English to be used early in education as well. Some of them envisaged a future where English will continue to dominate the lives of African people. There is a strong evidence of language shift from isiZulu to English. If the results of this study are anything to go by, then there are serious implications for the new language policy in education. The survival and success of any educational policy depends on the extent to which it is understood and embraced by the practitioners, in this case educators. Given my findings that most teachers are ambivalent about the new policy, the 'language in education' is in serious trouble. Based on collected data, it is clear that the teachers were not familiar with the new policy. The policy is likely to fail unless some intervention strategies are taken to address this problem. This made me to recommend that black educators (and parents in general) need to be given an awareness of the current language in education policy and what it attempts to redress. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

South Africa has undergone many political changes since the apartheid era. A recent one has included the adoption of a new language-in-education policy recommending, among other things, the use of African indigenous languages as languages of learning and teaching (LOLT). The country has moved into a system in which learners and schools are entitled to choose their preferred LOLT. However, there have been few concrete changes to accommodate this choice. In particular, the above language-in-education policy has not yet been adequately implemented in schools. This study investigates learners', educators' and parents' attitudes towards the use of English or /and isiZulu as the medium of learning and teaching in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal province. I ascertain if there are similarities and differences, if any, in the responses of the three groups of stakeholders from two secondary schools. I also demonstrate the implications of the attitudes of these stakeholders for the implementation of the current language-in-education policy. Lastly, I make recommendations that will assist language policy makers regarding the current language-in-education policy. The study shows that there are mixed feelings regarding the LOLT issue. It was found that the respondents largely favour the use of English as the medium of instruction, yet some of the responses are self-contradictory, in that they simultaneously want isiZulu to be used as early as grade 1 as LOLT. Most respondents still envisage a future where English will continue to have political, educational, social and economic power over isiZulu. There is thus an urgent need for the Department of Education to review the current language-in-education policy and address issues that might be hindering its implementation. The policy is likely to fail unless some intervention strategies are taken to address these problems. It is hoped that this study will help to highlight issues that can be further investigated in this area. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Adelaide, Centre for European Studies and General Linguistics, 2001? / Bibliography: leaves 211-227.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-91).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-91) Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A. (English Language and Linguistics))--Rhodes University, 2006.